Lessons from a Bride to Be 

• Start with your Vision.   How many times have we been involved in projects with no central theme or vision?   I remember sitting in work meetings asking the question, "What are we trying to accomplish here?"  I know how many projects can fail when that question is not answered and the vision and end goals are not clearly communicated or articulated.  I can remember other projects that sailed to completion when every person was clear on the end result.    John and I came up with three goals for our wedding and these goals and "vision" helps drive every decision we make.  And ultimately, we desire a wonderful wedding and reception, the end goal is that we are getting married!  How about you?   Are you clear on your project's vision? Some questions to ask yourself include, what is your desired result?  What does success look like to you?  How do you know when you are done? How can you measure your success?
                                                                               
• Solicit Help.  A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I held a "wedding summit" - where we invited friends to brainstorm ideas for our wedding and receptions. How fun it was to hear the creative ideas and input from others!  We realized that people really want to help.  I bet that is the same for you - there are people in your workplace or your lives who want to lend a hand.  Certainly, in today's collaborative workplaces, attempting to accomplish things by ourselves is no longer an option.  Teams that are most effective are the ones that actively look for various opinions.   A "creative brainstorming summit" is perfect for people who want to help you on any dreams, goals, or work project that you are involved in -and especially helpful when you find you are "stuck."
  

• Move forward after making decisions. I can't take credit for this idea.  This came from one of my best friends who gave to John and I some sage wisdom she received when she was getting married.  Here's the wisdom - once a decision has been made - don't second guess yourself - move forward.  This advice has helped us countless ways as there are many decisions to be made and many times the decision today can influence 4-5 decisions in the future. Most projects are fraught with decisions.    Sometimes we can get paralyzed because we feel like we need to make the "perfect" decision.  Other times we can allow the opinions of others to dictate what we want. (That is why having a clear vision at the outset of the project can form a "rudder" for you).  Making the best decision with the information at hand and moving forward with that choice can free us up from being paralyzed or spending wasted energy second guessing ourselves.
  

• View disappointments as opportunities.  Speaking of wasted energy, John and I finally figured an important truth that can perhaps help you.  We expended a lot of negative energy on disappointments or dashed expectations, complaining about it instead of breathing deeply, readjusting, and engaging in creative solutions and new action plans.  Disappointments you experience in your projects can be just the thing that can lead to creative solutions - better than what you planned.